International Conference "An End to Antisemitism" in February 2018

Not only research on antisemitism, but also the prevention of hatred of Jews, now and in the future, are the goals of the international conference "An End to Antisemitism!" which will take place at the University of Vienna from 18-22 February. Highly recognized experts from all over the world, including many renowned political and religious decision makers will discuss the complex phenomenon of antisemitism. The opening of the conference will take place on Sunday, 18 February at 5pm. at the Festival Hall of the Vienna City Hall, 1010 Vienna, Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz 1. Opening addresses will be given by the Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen and Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress. The opening lecture will be held by the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy.

The worldwide increase in antisemitism seventy years after the Shoah is an inacceptable menace we need to combat. The increase in different antisemitic excesses reflects the limited success of current strategies to fight anti-Semitism. The title of the conference “An End to Antisemitism!” is also a call to action!

Political and religious decision makers
About 150 speakers from the US and Canada, Israel and Latin America, Australia and various European countries will come to the conference "An End to Antisemitsm!" in Vienna.
Among them are renowned political and religious decision makers such as Katharina von Schnurbein (European Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism), Nathan Sharansky (Chairman of the Jewish Agency), Andrew Baker (American Jewish Committee and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Irwin Cotler (former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada), Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem), Imam Hassen Chalgoumi (President of the Conférence des Imams de France), Rabbi Abraham Skorka (Rector of the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano), and Bishop Michael Bünker (Bishop of the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Austria).

16 panels with different focuses
Sixteen panels address the history of antisemitism from antiquity to modern times and analyze its manifestations in Christianity and Islam from a variety of scholarly perspectives, such as psychology, sociology, pedagogy and media studies.

Keynote-Speaker at a glance:

Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Tel Aviv University, chair of the panel on Sociology and Social Sciences will give "A Sociological Perspective on Today Anti-Semitism and Strategies of Confrontation"

Florette Cohen, CUNY College of Staten Island, is chairing the panel on Psychology and will give insights into the psychological dimensions of antisemitism

Klaus Davidowicz, University of Vienna, chairs the panel on Modern History and will speak about "Propaganda as Entertainment - The Challenge of Nazi Propaganda Movies for Today"

Evyatar Friesel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, chair of the panel on Israel Studies will give a talk on the topic of "Jews against Israel: The ambivalences of contemporary Jewish identity"

Aleksandra Glizczynska-Grabias, Polish Academy of Sciences, chairs the panel on Jurisprudence and will give a main talk together with Calev Myers, The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurist

Simha Goldin, Tel Aviv University, will give definitions of "Anti-Judaism", "Jew-Hatred" and "Anti-Semitism" in Medieval History in the panel of the same name

Stephan Grigat, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Vienna, chairs the panel on Political Studies and will speak about "The fight against antisemitism: challenges and contradictions in the light of Adorno’s categorical imperative"

Benjamin Isaac, Tel Aviv University, chair of the panel on Ancient History will give insights into “Jews and the urban crowds: Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, Rome”

Armin Lange, University of Vienna, and Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland will give a talk on the topic of "Jews and Judaism between Bedevilment and Source of Salvation: Christianity as a Cause of and a Cure against Anti-Semitism" in their panel on Bible, Christianity and Antisemitism

Dina Porat, Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem, and Mark Weitzman, Simon Wiesenthal Center and International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, will present "The Working Definition of Antisemitism" in the panel on Contemporary History

Martin Rothgangel, University of Vienna, chairs the panel on Pedagogy and will speak about the possibilities of "Combatting Anti-Semitism. An Interdisciplinary Approach"

Lawrence Schiffman, New York University, will give talk about Judaism, Jewish Studies and Antisemitism in the panel of the same name

Julius H. Schoeps, Moses Mendelssohn Center for European Jewish Studies , chairs the panel on Philosophy and Ethics and will talk about "Philosophical Hypocrisy And Ethical 'Correctness' In Public Discourses On Israel"

Monika Schwarz-Friesel, Technical University of Berlin, chair of the panel on Internet and Antisemitism will chroncile "Online Hate and Antisemitism 2.0: The Spreading of Judeophobia on the World Wide Web"

Frank Stern, University of Vienna, chairs the panel on Media Studies, Journalism and Visual Culture and will speak about "Contemporary Visual Antisemitism: Words Fade But Images Remain"

Esther Webman, Tel Aviv University, chair of the panel on Islam and Antisemitism will give a talk on the topic of "Redeeming Humanity from the Evil of the Jews – Islamist Rationalization of Antisemitism"

Catalogue of policies against antisemitism
The outcome of the conference’s scholarly analysis of anti-Semitism will be a catalogue of policies that indicate how to effectively fight against and prevent anti-Semitism in the world. This catalogue is aimed at politicians, religious dignitaries, journalists, the legal profession and other decision makers. The conference’s experts will develop specific short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies to combat anti-Semitism in the world and to end it over a time span of several generations.

Programme: http://anendtoantisemitism.univie.ac.at/program/ 
Free admission with picture ID and registration add link
The conference language is English

Registration for journalists and contact for media requests concerning Keynote-Speakers: info(at)millisegal.at